By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former Representative Liz Cheney, who bucked her Republican Party to strongly criticize President-elect Donald Trump and some of his allies, was one of 20 people awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the country's highest civilian honors, by President Joe Biden on Thursday.
The medal is given to Americans for their service to the country or its citizens, the White House said.
Biden, speaking in the East Room of the White House, praised the honorees for courage, leadership, service and empathy.
"I think it's pretty damn simple: Our democracy begins and ends with the duties of citizenship," he said. "Our work continues."
The presidential medals, which go through a less rigorous approval process than Medals of Honor or acts of clemency, give a president the opportunity to honor people who have fought for causes he championed.
Cheney is a one-time Republican member of Congress who served as vice chair of the House of Representatives select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
She received a standing ovation at Thursday's ceremony. In October, she urged Americans to reject Trump's “depraved cruelty” as she campaigned in support of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who later lost to Trump.
Media reports have said Biden is considering a pre-emptive pardon to protect her from retribution by the next administration. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said last month he backed a call for the FBI to investigate Cheney over her role leading the congressional probe.
Other winners of the medal included Democratic Representative Bennie G. Thompson who served as the Jan. 6 House select committee chairman, attorney Mary Bonauto who argued the landmark marriage-equality case before the Supreme Court, women's rights activist Eleanor Smeal and Evan Wolfson, a leader of the marriage-equality movement.
Veterans, health-care advocates and former lawmakers with close, decades-long ties to Biden were also on the list such as former Democratic senators Ted Kaufman, Chris Dodd and Bill Bradley.
In a separate ceremony, Biden spoke of the 235 judges he nominated who were confirmed, including a record number of women and people of color. This followed the judiciary's ideological shift to the right during Trump's first term as president.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the confirmations would be one of Biden's “most consequential accomplishments."
“The good news is that these judges will be a barrier against attacks on our democratic institutions," he said. "These judges will have the first and often decisive impact on cases involving voting rights in elections and democracy writ large."